POP star Cerys Matthews and former fashion guru Mary Quant are both related to a former King of England, a Welshman tracing his own family tree has discovered.

POP star Cerys Matthews and former fashion guru Mary Quant are both related to a former King of England, a Welshman tracing his own family tree has discovered.

Imposing names from history like Henry VII and James Scott, Duke of Monmouth join modern figures like Matthews, Quant and former MP Gareth Wardell in Alun Williams's ancestral line.

All are related to the Vaughan family, who settled in Carmarthenshire centuries ago and built the imposing Golden Grove mansion near Llandeilo.

Mr Williams, a teacher from the Gwendraeth Valley, says his fascination with genealogy started more than 20 years ago and led him to trace his own family tree back to the Vaughans.

Since then his research, which has gone back to the 16th Century, has taken him from the Carmarthen Archives to the National Library of Wales to the National Portrait Gallery in London.

But little did he realise that his painstaking work would throw up such wide family connections - the subject of his new book Extraordinary Characters from the Vaughan Gallery.

"The first breakthrough came years ago as I was researching my family tree and hit upon the Prices of Llanedi," Mr Williams said.

"Then I discovered that I am a descendant of the Vaughans and that it all links up.

"So I wanted to concentrate on some of the more unusual characters within the family tree to show what a diverse range of people are connected."

The first entry in the book mentions John Vaughan, born in 1577 and one of the first students to graduate from the "Welsh" Jesus College in Oxford. The later entries are some four centuries and a world away, dealing with '60s icon and creator of the mini skirt Mary Quant and pop singer Cerys Matthews.

"Not many people realise the links that most of these characters have with West Wales, although Cerys is obviously Welsh," Mr Williams said.

"She is a descendant of John Vaughan of Plasgwyn, Llandyfaelog and also of the Prices of Llanedi.

"And Mary Quant is maternally a descendant of the Cystanog branch of the Vaughan family, who originated at Golden Grove in Carmarthenshire."

Less famous faces are also featured in the book - people like Sian Muliro, 40, who forged a new life in Kenya.

"Her story shows the remarkable struggle of a Welsh girl in foreign lands where women are subordinate," Mr Williams said.

He also found some unexpected similarities with even his most distant relatives during his research.

"I am quite musical so it was a joy to write about musician John Pugh Rees and Cerys Matthews," he says.

"Being a French teacher I am also a bit of a linguist - but I was amazed to find out about Dudley Loftus, who in the early 17th Century translated many texts.

"He could work in Welsh, English, Irish, French, Russian, Syriac and others - I found that astonishing."

Loftus was also a prominent politician who was involved in the treaty between the Irish and English in 1647.

Before him came royalty - Catherine Tudor, great aunt of Welsh-born Henry Tudor who became King of England in 1485.

"It is amazing that all these people can trace their roots, really, to a quiet little village in Wales," adds Mr Williams.